One of the biggest challenges in marketing a congregational endowment is deciding “who does what.” It’s an important question because the person or group delivering a message can have a large influence over how the message is received. A message about the Biblical context of stewardship would be more credible coming from your pastor than from the finance committee. A message about the tax advantages of charitable remainder trusts is likely to be more credible coming from a financial professional than from the pastor.
In general, all communications about your congregation’s endowment fund should come from one of two sources: your endowment committee and your pastor. The communications roles of the pastor and the committee can be defined as follows:
Role of the pastor
The primary communications role of your pastor is to proclaim the mission and vision of your congregation and explain how the endowment fund furthers your mission and vision. While your pastor is the proclaimer of the Biblical message of stewardship, it is important not to put your pastor in the role of “fund-raiser.”
Your pastor can fulfill his or her communications role in several ways, including:
• Sermons
• Letters
• A message in the endowment brochure/annual report
Role of the Endowment Committee
Essentially, it is your endowment committee’s job to do everything your pastor doesn’t do. In addition to creating and administering the endowment fund, this includes promoting the fund through a variety of communications means, including:
• Writing/placing articles in your church bulletin and/or newsletter.
• Organizing workshops for the congregation on various topics related to the endowment.
• Creating and distributing the endowment fund annual report.
• Working with the pastoral staff to find appropriate ways for the pastor to promote the endowment.
See the section on “Creating a Marketing Plan” in the Congregational Endowment Guide for more ideas on communicating about the endowment.
